Rattle Can Refinish Club

[tymbrewolf]

Painted a bass conversion with a hammered rattle brown. Had a paint blocking situation going on. Took it down to reshoot top coat. Liked the unintended sort of relic appearance as did my wife. A few coats of wipe on poly and calling it good. First conversion on left

 

[TwinDad]

Hey, a question... on my first build, I got the paint ... eh... good enough I'm not going to redo it. But still, there's this very fine not-smoothness to the finish that gives it a matte appearance. I'd rather get something much glossier on the next go-round. If the pictures are even enough to tell what I'm talking about, can y'all give me some advice on how to prevent this?

My starting assumption is that I didn't sand the color smooth enough before applying the clear coat...

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Ideally you shouldnt have to sand the color coat much, if at all. You want to build up enough thickness of clearcoat that you can sand and buff out the orange peel without cutting through to color. Its an aquired skill of practice and failure, unfortunately. In your shoes now, id probably strip it and try again. Once the clearcoat cures fully, you cant overcoat more clear without witness lines showing through.

 

[TwinDad]

Ideally you shouldnt have to sand the color coat much, if at all. You want to build up enough thickness of clearcoat that you can sand and buff out the orange peel without cutting through to color. Its an aquired skill of practice and failure, unfortunately. In your shoes now, id probably strip it and try again. Once the clearcoat cures fully, you cant overcoat more clear without witness lines showing through.

So... it’s the clear coat that is causing the effect?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Probably a little of both, but the orange peel is in the clearcoat. You have nothing to lose by trying to wetsand it with very fine grit (800 grit+) Wet and dry automotive paper and a drop of dish soap. If the clearcoat is too thin, you'll go right though it, so its a commitment once you start. 1000 great tutorials on Youtube, dont try to wing it.

 

[JIO]

View attachment 3232158

A tip on weight reduction - if you use a drill-press and a smaller forstner bit (5/8") you can remove more wood in the same space while maintaining the structural integrity. With a drill press you can set the depth of holes down to 1/4" which leaves plenty of wood at the base.

Update: on a typical Jazz bass - chambering the way I did on my Teiscobird under a J pg (which isn't as large an area) will reduce weight by (only) 6oz. Just throwing this out there in case you are considering the process.

On this example I removed nearly a pound which the pg/control plate cover. You just need to avoid the rear belly-bevel area so you don't break through.

in progress - sans clear coat Teiscobird projects

 

[scuzzy]

It's not a refinish, but it is rattle can. Rust-Oleum pink lacquer and clear lacquer top coat. Buffed out.

I learned a lot from this thread. Thank you all.

 

[JIO]

It's not a refinish, but it is rattle can. Rust-Oleum pink lacquer and clear lacquer top coat. Buffed out.

View attachment 3335170

I learned a lot from this thread. Thank you all.

very pretty

 

[nervous]

Mulling this job but unsure of how to approach the prep. This is a solid and great playing instrument but someone was unkind to it along the way and with the surface dings and what appears to be a poor relic attempt has some areas that would need filling and sanding before prime and paint. What methods and materials would you recommend i this case to create a nice, as like new as possible, starting surface? I am planning on a full, non transparent coloe choice, possibly a metallic green.

 

[Spector_Ray]

Question, if I may. I got rid of an Epiphone Thunderbird Pro IV several years ago and I’m regretting it as it was a very well built bass and sounded awesome! It was black and I can’t seem to find black ones anywhere and Epi has discontinued the color. I was thinking of getting one in burst or natural, stripping it and refinishing it in the black stain. Has anyone ever stripped a Pro IV? What can I expect?

 

[Klondike]

Question, if I may. I got rid of an Epiphone Thunderbird Pro IV several years ago and I’m regretting it as it was a very well built bass and sounded awesome! It was black and I can’t seem to find black ones anywhere and Epi has discontinued the color. I was thinking of getting one in burst or natural, stripping it and refinishing it in the black stain. Has anyone ever stripped a Pro IV? What can I expect?

Have you considered the Epiphone Vintage Pro? It is an amazing bass and sounds straight out of the sixties, every bit as good if not better that a 64 Bird. And the come in Black so you wouldn't even have to redo it. Best part is they are about 600 bucks. Exceptionaly reasonable considering your getting what is arguably better in many ways than a "for real" Gibson.

 

[Spector_Ray]

I like the bridge and electronics of the Pro over the Vintage as well as the black stain but it is worth the consideration.

 

[Jebberz]

It would be easier (and more reversible if you change your mind or want to resell) to change a bridge and electronics than do a refinish IMHO

 

[Crusher47]

Current project teaser pic....Ofcourse it's cloudy out, will take more when it's sunny

 

[Crusher47]

Finally complete, took a couple of pics in the sun, not sure how it looks on your screen (could be my crappy phone camera too) but in person it really pops and sparkles...

Inside and fully strung up pics...

 

[Hippopaulimus]

Finally complete, took a couple of pics in the sun, not sure how it looks on your screen (could be my crappy phone camera too) but in person it really pops and sparkles...

Yeah, I’ve found you can’t really catch the sparkle on a phone. They just show up as white dots.
But it still looks great in these pictures.

 

[bound'n'blocked]

Finally complete, took a couple of pics in the sun, not sure how it looks on your screen (could be my crappy phone camera too) but in person it really pops and sparkles...

What's that paint? love that color!

BnB

 

[Fresh Eddie]

Painted a bass conversion with a hammered rattle brown. Had a paint blocking situation going on. Took it down to reshoot top coat. Liked the unintended sort of relic appearance as did my wife. A few coats of wipe on poly and calling it good. First conversion on leftView attachment 3333765

Both of those look great! Is there anything under the ashtray on the black one?

 

[Crusher47]

What's that paint? love that color!

BnB

Colors I used were: Krylon Colormaster Paint & Primer Gloss Rich Plum as a base coat. Once dry, I used Krylon Glitter Blast Grape Glitz as the top coat. Then used Krylon Colormaster Gloss Crystal Clear to seal it in.

 

[bound'n'blocked]

Colors I used were: Krylon Colormaster Paint & Primer Gloss Rich Plum as a base coat. Once dry, I used Krylon Glitter Blast Grape Glitz as the top coat. Then used Krylon Colormaster Gloss Crystal Clear to seal it in.

Thanks! Does it feel smooth or can you feel any texture?

BnB